Breast Cancer Prevention

Although specific steps cannot be taken to prevent breast cancer, these risk factors gathered from breastcancerprevention.org could advocate whether or not you are at a higher risk.

Do you know?
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in North American women. It is a leading cause of cancer death, second only to lung cancer. Simply being a woman and getting older puts you at risk for breast cancer.

What puts me at risk?
Risk for developing breast cancer is individual. It depends on a combination of lifestyle and personal traits known as "risk factors." The following risk factors are strongly related to the disease and can alert you and your physician to the need for careful follow-up:

A family history of breast cancer, especially in your mother, sister(s), or
daughter(s) Age -- in general, the older you are, the greater your risk Never having borne a child Having your first child after age 30 First menstrual period at an early age A history of benign breast disease that required biopsies